A Semblance of Sanity
by FairyTailShinigami
Summary: What happens when you add a Wolf faunus with a Werewolf Semblance to RWBY? Mystery! Intiuge! Romance! Comedy! Yangry Blondes!
1. Chapter 1

A Semblance of Sanity

 **A.N. Here's My New Fanfiction, a RWBY one about a Wolf Faunus. Here's his Bio (sorry for the length, Please read it all, I can't figure out how to work this in to the text, but I'm bad at working this stuff in, at least in this case):**

 **Name: James Shinigami Age: 17 Species: Wolf Faunus Hair: Slightly Reddish-Brown (on head, tail, wolf ears, and body), Side-Swept, Medium-short, and Spiky Eyes: Dark Blue Build: Rather Tall (6'11"), Moderately Muscular (Defined but not overly Bulky, and yet not slim), Broad shoulders, chiseled jaw, all-around well-endowed. Features: Wolf ears (alongside normal ones) and tail, pronounced canine teeth, enhanced sight at night, enhanced sense of smell, enhanced hearing, light layer of hair on chest, forearms, and legs, Claws that emerge at will**

 **Semblance: Beast Within; It Enhances all abilities, including those of weapons, by increasing intervals, measured by how Bestial his appearance is; The First "Tier" involves fur sprouting on forearms, legs, and back, human ears begin to disappear as wolf ears become more pronounced, as well as feet elongating and gaining claws, The Second "Tier" progresses the transformation, feet elongate even more, becoming more paw like, heels begin to lift off ground, face begins to morph, canines elongating, fur begins to creep up neck, finger elongate, claws become bigger and sharper, human ears are almost gone by this point, wolf ears are bigger, tail begins to elongate, becoming a bit shaggier, The Third "Tier" looks more beast than human, human ears are gone, a mane/scruff has begun to form, eyes have begun to redden, looking purple rather than their normal welcoming blue, face still has some semblance of humanity, still mostly hairless, posture has begun to become hunched over, skin begins to lose color, changing to a dark gray color, pectoral and abdominal muscles are still relatively furless, The Final Form looks like a Skyrim-style Werewolf, the eyes have fully transitioned to a bright and almost Luminous red, Arms and Legs have elongated greatly, with arms longer than legs, posture has become so hunched that when not moving James' knuckles must rest on the ground to maintain balance, body is almost completely covered in fur, Face is completely Bestial, and Tail is now long and shaggy. The downside is that he loses control more and more as he morphs, only vaguely recognizing Friend and Foe in the final stage, viewing anything in the way of him and his target as an obstacle to be destroyed, taking bites out of enemies, tearing out throats and scarfing them down when he takes a bite, a merciless beast. The bloodlust increases as the transformation progresses**

 **Equipment: "Okami" gauntlet; Ability to generate an extremely lightning filled storm around left fist, looks like a black wolf head with sapphire light emanating from the detailing, and the end of the muzzle is at the wrist, can shrink like Yang's shotgun gauntlets or expand to accommodate use of semblance, "Riyu" gauntlet; generates fire around right fist, looks like a black dragon head with ruby colored light emanating from the detailing, end of mouth is at wrist, can shrink like Yang's shotgun gauntlets or expand to accommodate use of semblance, Normal school uniform during school, except his shirt is unbuttoned all the way to show off chest, Battle uniform consists of dark gray Cargo pants with various pockets for holding bits and pieces used for getting out of tight spots, like a ball of twine, bobby pins, etc., fingerless gloves, necklace with wolf emblem on it, a belt with a crescent moon and wolf emblem on it, Okami and Riyu gauntlets, a blue cloak with a cowl and removable sleeves (stored in pant pockets), it's left open most of the time but when the situation calls for it a dust-powered device can transform the fabric into a flexible, soft, comfortable material that can deflect and stop slashes as well as be resistant to thrusts and is made to stay intact all the way through the final form Beast Within**

 **Strengths: good melee fighter, fast,** _ **very**_ **strong, rather smart, kind, perceptive, cunning, moderately stealthy, ADHD Weaknesses: not well versed in ranged, can throw some fire and storm, but not accurately, slightly reclusive, some psychological trouble, the root of which will be revealed later, can get restless and jumpy and moody due to his "alter ego" wanting to be let out Likes: Tinkering, blue, cooking, reading (specifically getting lost in the vibrant narrative, that subtle swish of flipping a page, the smell of paper, just… aaaaaahhhhhhhhh…), gaming, both men and women (yes, romantically) Dislikes: Assholes (like Cardin), current White Fang modus operandi, Killing people without reason, RAP, SERIOUSLY F! #$%^ RAP, IT'S NOT MUSIC, ITS PEOPLE TALKING,** **TALKING** **, TO A VAUGE BEAT, NOT SINGING, TALKING!**

 **Sorry for the Long-Ass Bio, Time for the Story to start!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY**

"Aaaaahhhhhh… Solid ground, finally!" I exclaimed as I strolled down the ramp of the airship. I'm James Shinigami, Wolf Faunus, and I'm training to be a Hunter of the Kingdom of Vale. I'm already a hunter with a lower-case h but I want to be a Hunter with an upper-case H. Hunters go after the Dark creatures of Grimm, and let me tell you they are uuuuuggguuuly mother huggers. They look like twisted versions of regular animals with white bone masks. But… Anyways… Let's snap back to reality.

I heard a blondie girl across the square talking with a girl who was presumably her little sister, encouraging the younger to make new friends before running off towards… me?

"Hi, my name's Yang Xiao Long, and I couldn't help but notice that you use gauntlet-based weapons like me and my Ember Cecilia, by the way, what's yours and why do you have your hood up in such warm weather?" "My name's James Shinigami and the Gauntlet on my left wrist is Okami and he generates intense electrical storms, and the one on my right is Riyu and he generates fire. Those are… Shotgun Gauntlets, right?" I ask. "Yep, I made them myself, but you're avoiding the question," she retorts. "Fiiiine… Just don't freak when I reach around behind myself," I tell her. I pull down my cowl to reveal… "Oh… My… God…" I brace myself for the inevitable… the worst… "THEY'RE SO CUTE!" There it was… The female "cute screech"… I decided to show her it all, after all with it being in my pants, stuck between my legs for hours on end it needs to be let out…

"A TAIL TOO? SOOO CUTE!" Yang exclaims. We talk for a while and then Yang walks off. I start towards the Auditorium when I feel _IT._ The tugs at the base of my spine, the feeling of a hand, not mine on my tail. On reflex I reach behind me slamming the dumbass onto the ground in front of me with my left hand, igniting my gauntlet and stopping my hand a few inches from his face.

"What's your name, scum?" I growl at the teen. "It's Cardin Winchester, I don't care about your name Faunus scrub!" he spits. So… he's one of those, is he? "Well, Too bad, I'm James Shinigami, and I'm gonna let you off easy, this time, do it again and face my Wrath!" I declare. I then put as much force as I can into kicking the smaller man as hard as I can in his groin without causing permanent damage or infertility (I'm not so stupid as to do something that will set every other guy at beacon against me0.

"Good Job, dude," I hear from behind and turn to see a rather stunning young lady in gladiator armor. "Yes well, He should have known that would happen, because if you mess with the Wolf you get the Bite," I tell her smiling as I rub the back of my neck "My name's James Shinigami," I tell her, introducing myself. She replies with "Nice to meet you James, I'm… Phyrra, Phyrra Nikos," I notice that she's beginning to blush whilst looking at my chest. "Nice to meet you Ms. Undefeated winner of the Mistral Tournament Multiple times in a row, by the way, my eyes are up here Miss." "Sorry, I just well you certainly know how to show off what you've got."

Just then I looked at the clock "Oh, Shit, Phyrra, it's time for the welcome assembly, Let's Go!"

 _One Boring Lecture Later: At Night_

We were all having a BIG slumber party in the Ball Room before the initiation tomorrow and I was on my way back from brushing my teeth and getting changed into my sleepwear, a pair of long blue pajama bottoms with a pattern of horizontal and vertical grey stripes of varying values and I entered the Ballroom, only to pretty much cause everyone in the room to turn and look when I swore violently after stubbing my pinky toe on a doorframe, then a few small conversations started among the girls (and some Guys) about me. I headed over to where Yang and her sister were.

"Hi Yang," I exclaimed. "Mind introducing me to the girl who I presume is your sister, I mean you two smell so similar that There is no other possibility" "We Smell SIMILAR?!," the younger one yells "WHAT KIND CREEPER ARE YOU?!" "I'M NOT!" I retort, "I'M A WOLF FAUNUS, WE HAVE NATURALLY SENSITIVE NOSES!" I yell back. "Uhhhh… Sorry I'm Ruby Rose, Yang's sister" "Nice to meet you, I'm James Shinigami; I met your sis this morning, before the assembly. Hey mind if I just hang out here for a while?" "No, Not at all" I pull out my book, The King of the Bracelets.

Later on I hear Yang and Ruby getting up and talking to someone, but I ignore it until I register a familiar voice but write it off as a fluke. It goes for longer and I start to get Tick marks on my forehead and look up after inserting my bookmark and see someone I did not expect to see ever again. I do what any sensible canine Faunus would do. I calmly set my book down, standup than envelop my long lost friend in a flying tackle hug. "BLAAAKKKKKEEE I'm so happy to see you again!" I howl, "I haven't seen you in so long" I just add to the mayhem and after things die down I introduce Blake to Ruby and Yang formally then I decide it's time to fall asleep. I go over to my sleeping area, stretch out on my side, grab my Good luck stuffed dragon and wolf, my favorite burgundy blanket, and my lucky crochet blanket from a mother I only vaguely remember and I'm out like a light.

 _The Next Day: Beacon Cliffs by Emerald Forest_

As I'm walking up to admire the view for a minute or two before everyone else gets there, as well as get myself feeling halfway decent I notice Ozpin with his back towards me, holding The holiest of all beverages. What beverage is this you ask? Well, I will tell you… It's… COFFEE. I need it, I've never been without, I need it, and even a single cup will do. So I sneak up, prepare, plan aaannnddd… SUCCESS! I take the cup and drown it in one gulp not even caring that it is hot. Wooohhhoooo! James is at 100% once again.

Later on we were all standing on metal plates and once Ozpin explains the goal, met with varying degrees of outrage. The basics are this: whomever you first make eye contact with will be your partner, teams will be formed from pairs of partner sets, and we must find a relic in a ruin in the forest and return to the cliff tops with them. Blake and I are next to each other at launch and when we are told that we must come up with our own landing strategy, I lean in to Blake and tell her "You should have the landing in the bag, cause cats always land on their feet, huh." She snickers and gets launched, and then a few seconds later I'm launched. I activate Okami to generate an updraft beneath me so that I land softly. I look around, activate Okami and Riyu and activate my semblance, shifting into what I call my Tier One, my body becomes slightly more bestial and I stalk off.

I come across a pack of Beowolves an hour later and start tearing into them, tearing vessels and veins, severing tendons, biting chunks out, dodging left and right until only a few, older Grimm are left and they flee promptly. A few minutes later I come across a clearing containing the rest of the people that did not seem to be lackeys of that Cardin guy. I arrive just in time to save Ice Princess from hitting the ground and making a magnificent pancake by using Okami to make an updraft to save her. "H-h-h-h-how'd you do that?" Weiss asked. "I used my storm gauntlet, Okami, to make a violent updraft to cushion your fall" "Thanks, I guess" After that Quick exchange we joined the Group and Yang's Sarcastic side showed itself. "Yay! Now we can all die together!" she said in mock enthusiasm. Ruby and I seemed to have the same thought, though she voiced it and acted foolishly, requiring help from Weiss and they had a Heart-to-Heart YAY FOR TEAM BONDING.

After that little Fiasco we decided to grab our relics and go! Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all had White Knights while Jaune, Nora, Phyrra, and Ren grabbed White Rooks. There was only one piece left after that. The White Queen, Hah, the most maneuverable piece. After we got our pieces we fled to a larger complex of ruins that were better to combat the Nevermore and Deathstalker that followed us. Just as we came to a bridge a veritable horde of beowolves caught up with us.

"GO! I'LL USE MY SEMBLANCE TO TAKE CARE OF THE HORDE!" I Bellowed. "Your semblance?" Ruby asked. "Yeah, I call it the Beast Within, it enhances all of my abilities while making me look more bestial, I'm using tier one right now, but if I go all the way I'll look like a bipedal Beowolf without the spikes and mask, the downside is that my mind becomes more consumed with bloodlust the more I push it!" I told her. "DO IT" she yelled.

I did it.

According to Teams RWBY and JNPR after the fact it was the single most horrifying thing any of them had ever seen.

After the other 12 students that I had been fighting alongside got their teams I was called up and told that the Queen was used when there was an odd man out and the man that acquired it could be on the team of their choice.

I made my choice and now Team RWBY is Team RWBYS

 **And that's it, please review, and don't flame, they are only fed to Natsu Dragneel the next fandom over and apparently they make him sick**

 **SEEYA NEXT TIME!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Semblance of Sanity**

 **A.N. This is mostly Fluff. Edited on 1/4/16 for consistency with Canon**

Chapter 2: How are they so happy?!

I opened my eyes to see my old closet. "It was just a dream? Man, it was nice while it lasted." I said to no one in particular. Then I heard the knocking. I got up as per usual and followed them to the chair where I let them strap me in. "So… did you enjoy your vacation?" asked the woman in red, she stood where she always did, her face hidden in the shadows.

"What vacation?" I asked, confused. "Your escape attempt. You even managed to get into Beacon." She replied. I could hear her smirk. "Then… it wasn't just a dream? It was real?" I asked her, my voice trembling. "Yes, but once they saw what you _really_ were they gave you back, because no one wants a mangy mongrel like you." She told me, her voice sweet, like honeyed poison. No, they wouldn't I thought, they're good people, they wouldn't do that. She continued with "Because you ran away I'll have to put your collar back on until you learn not to, okay?" I wanted to struggle, to scream no, to do something to get away, but my body remained still and I heard myself meekly agreeing with her. The design on her dress glowed and the collar began to float towards my neck. I struggled, bucking this way and that, trying to get away, and as the hated thing closed around my neck I…

…Woke up. I'd been having that nightmare for a while, and it was always terrible, but this time it was worse because my friends had betrayed me. I decided that, because I was already up, I would go and explore the school and its grounds. I pulled on my pants, shoes and sleeveless and long coat and left the dorm. My coat wasn't much when I got it, just a piece of blue fabric sewn into the shape of a coat with detachable sleeves, but it was well loved, and I had long ago woven armor-fibers through out the whole thing, making it nearly impervious to damage. I headed to a place that I had chanced upon during initiation, perfect to leave my stuff at for a while. I stripped off all of my stuff except for my necklace and put on a wolf-hide loincloth that I had made a while ago, before Ozpin found me. I then started running, letting go of my emotions as I went.

A few minutes after I started I heard a voice that was a distorted, cold version of my own. " **So you had that nightmare again, did you? If you let me take over you would never have to worry about such… human things again.** " He said, doing his usual routine of trying to tempt me into letting him take over. See, I have a split personality and he's the other one, he loves to fight and hunt and kill, but not people, not anymore. He usually cares about the people I do but even then I don't let him out much because he likes to make me look bad. Also the last time I let him out I woke up and... well.. l'm still not sure if I'm a father or not. "And let you carve a path of blood across the kingdoms?" I replied. " **Don't forget taking over the world.** " he said. "Well, that goes without saying" The banter went on like this for a while, then I noticed that the sun was coming up and decided to get dressed and return to the dorm.

On the way back I was lost in thought and trying to figure out how to keep my secret from the others, at least until we got to the point where they wouldn't care what I was or until they forced it out of me, whichever took longer. I really liked them, but I couldn't get close to them, not even Blake, my childhood friend. We grew up in the same orphanage until we were 6 and the owner's daughter took over and kicked out the faunus children. After that The White Fang took us in and raised us. I got close to Blake, she was like a little sister. I left when I was 13 because I did not like the way that they operated. I was 15 when I unlocked my semblance. It made me look more wolfish, slightly more hunched over, with claws, furrier, longer fangs, harrier , and increased my senses, strength , speed, and durability, but I became very reckless, and angry too. I had been working as a bodyguard for the leader of an organization that operated outside the law (as evidenced by hiring a homeless, 15 year old faunus) at the time, a human that always wore a mask and red dress, and had a pair of Bodyguards my age, named Mercury and Emerald.

When they came for me I was confused. They strapped me into a chair and simply started experimenting on me. I found out later that Emerald, who I'd belived that I had become friends with in addition to Mercury, had told her boss about me. I escaped 6 months before the start of the school year during an ambush of a tremendously powerful Huntress, fleeing with the Huntsman that saved her. I think that he said that his name was Crow, or Raven, or Vulture, something like that. He, in turn, brought me to Ozpin, who offered a pardon for my crimes and a chance to attend his school in exchange for information about the woman that I had worked for. I told him everything I knew.

" **Hey King, we better get back** ", my other side told me. I started back, ready for the day.

 **A Month or Two Later (After The First Day and Jaunedice Arc because I'm too lazy to write them)**

I had settled in nicely, I had gotten to be good friends with Teams RWBY, JNPR, and, surprisingly CRDL (they got nicer and have gone from malicious bullying to light-hearted assholery, after Jaune saved Cardin's life) despite my best efforts, Ruby especially. I tried as hard as I could to stay away so that they wouldn't get hurt, but I found that I had been growing closer and closer to my team and my other classmates. I got closer to Phyrra through our shared enjoyment of battle tactics, Nora and I bonded over our love of fire and destruction, and our passion for learning human anatomy, Jaune and I both enjoyed training, and Ren and I both liked to meditate sometimes. Turns out, CRDL were all huge gamers, like me. Me and them had more than one "Friendly" Super Smash Bros. Tournament that came down to me and Cardin. I got closer to Yang because we both loved fighting and protected our loved ones fiercely, Weiss and I got along because we both enjoyed learning and finding out more about Dust, Blake and I both loved to read, and we could fangirl together for hours on end. And Ruby was… perfect. We both loved cookies, building weapons, and helping people and I just melted around her and couldn't keep her away, we became best friends. My heart fluttered whenever she got near, and her scent was amazing. That day I approached her after Grimm Studies having finally worked up the courage to ask Ruby what had been gnawing at me for a while.

"Hey Ruby!" I said. She turned around and asked me " Yeah James, what is it?" "Well… I got two tickets to see Jeff and Casey Lee Williams in concert this weekend and… I… I…," dammit why was this so hard? "Iwashopingthatyouwouldgowithme." I said as fast as I could. "Really? Yes Yes Yes, of course I will!" She said, smiling all the while. "Yes!... Ahem… I mean cool, it goes from 5 to 11 and it's not just the Williams siblings, Fall Out Guy is going to be there too." I told her, happy that she had said yes.

Later, just after one of my classes with Yang, she came up to me, groped me, and squeezed. Hard. Hard enough that my voice rose several octaves. "So, I heard from Ruby that you asked her to go to that concert this weekend, is that true?" I nodded. "So, are you going to do it right, take her to dinner, buy her a gift, all that nice stuff?" Nod. " Well then, I guess it's okay, but if you break her heart, I will BLEEP your BLEEP and shove it up your BLEEP, got it?" Nod. After that she let go.

 **That Weekend At 5**

I had had an amazing time up to that point, even though Ruby had been acting strange all night long. I was going to ask what was wrong, but just then the music started, one of our shared favourites, Red like Roses started.

Later

One of the slower songs was playing, Gold, and everyone, including me and Ruby, were slow dancing. I was not really paying attention to the music, just enjoying Ruby's company, and has any one noticed that she smelled like roses, fresh baked cookies, and gun oil? It was a beautiful smell, anyways, I digress. Suddenly Ruby spoke, "Hey, James?" "Yeah?" I replied, unsure at her tone. "I really enjoyed today, and there's something I wanted to tell you," she said, sounding very nervous. " What is it, Ruby?" I replied, growing very nervous. "I like you, like- like you. I get all shaky and my heart races when I'm near you… I think I'm in love" she said. Her words hit me like a slap in the face. She liked me! She really liked me too. "James?" she said, sounding scared, probably afraid that I did not return the feelings. I did not speak, just leaned in, brought her face up to mine, and kissed her. Just kissed her, but it was heartfelt and meaningful. I broke the kiss and smiled, not threatening, but warm and genuine "Does that tell you how I feel about you?" I asked. She just nodded and leaned in close.

"And I will turn you heart to… Gold"

Later when they get back to Beacon

When we got back, me carrying Ruby because she'd fallen asleep on the bullhead, I went over to my bed and laid down, Ruby still on my back because she seemed to be sleeping soundly and I did not want to wake her. I soon fell asleep.

For the first time in years, I had sweet dreams all night, no flashbacks, nightmares, or conversations with my other side, nothing. It was beautiful.

 **A.N. Sorry this took so long, school has been murder lately and I just got back into RWBY, so yeah. F.Y.I about James's semblance, it will only go all the way when he and his other side are pissed off to the max, it has purple eyes, and he can only go halfway otherwise, his other side has red eyes (eyes turn red when he's in control), and it doesn't push his semblance all the way, it just "knows how to use their body better", it's very much like Ichigo's Inner Hollow. James is not a Gary Stu, I just am shit at writing team bonding scenes, I am trying to make him split, for now, between getting closer to RWBY and staying distant from them for their own safety, but he is having a very hard time, because they grow on you, like a benign tumor.**


	3. Chapter 3

A Semblance of Sanity

 **A.N.** **Onwards to the last part of volume 1 (I hope) Here is a nice Christmas present, too.** **Edited on 1/4/16 for consistency with Canon**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY**

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT, WHY ARE YOU TWO IN THE SAME BED" was the sound that I woke up to. I immediately disentangeled myself from Ruby and stood on the other side of the room. Yang was in full passed off mode, hair flaming, eyes red, pissed off scowl, the works. I decided to reply as soon as possible. "Nothing, we danced, she told me that she was in love with me, I told her that I felt the same after kissing her, we spent the rest of the night there until the concert was over, we caught the last bullhead back, she fell asleep on the way, I carried her back to the dorm and decided not to wake her up because she seemed like she was having a good dream!" I told her, praying to Oum that she would not kill me.

"YOU KISSED!?" she screamed as she ran at me, probably preparing to castrate me. Just as she reached me Ruby woke up. "Yang?" she said, sounding upset. Yang stopped and turned her head, "Yes Ruby?" she asked in her usual her cheerful tone. "Please step away from my… my…" she stuttered, like she was having a hard time finding the right word. "My boyfriend," she said, confidently this time.

She leapt back like I had just bitten her "Y… y… your… your… Your boyfriend?" she spluttered, like she couldn't process the words that she had just heard. "Uhhhhhhh… Ruby… I think you broke her," I said, barely holding back a laugh. Just then our scrolls went off all at once. I pulled it out and looked at the message: Team RWBYS to Professor Ozpin's office ASAP. We got dressed and set off.

 **Ozpin's office**

I was wearing my beacon uniform, the blazer and dress shirt sleeves rolled up together to the middle of my upper arms, a necklace with a stylized view of a the top of a dragon's head and snout around my neck, a pair of rectangular glasses that had a thin frame that went half way down the outer side of the lenses, across the top, and ¾ of the way down the side of the lens that rested against the flesh of my nose, made of very dark blue metal. I had a nice black metal analog watch with a durable plastic band on my left wrist, a blue metal ring on my right ring finger, and a dark blue bracelet with a metal ring in the center on top of my wrist and a Celtic knotwork design on either side of it on my right wrist.

As we stepped out of the elevator we were dazzled by the room before us. It was like someone had taken the insides of a clock and turned them into a room, and it was magnificent, I could have just sat there and watched it for days and days.

Anyways, I digress, back to the topic at hand. After some awkward dancing around the subject we came to the heart of the matter. "Are you and James in a relationship, Miss Rose? Because if you are then we have to mark this down on both of your files." Ozpin said with a rather serious tone. ""Yes we are, but why does it matter? Is there some rule against hunters dating each other ?" she asked, hesitantly. "No, nothing like that, we just need to know so that we can inform your family and/or guardians of this, also this will make it so that the two of you will know if something happens to either one of you, we started doing this so that we don't have any nasty surprises of any kind." He told us, calm and succinct. "Well okay then, I just hope that Ruby's dad and/or uncle won't try to kill me, since Yang apparently gets her temper and fighting style from her dad." I said, trying, and failing, to sound cheerful and not at all afraid.

 **That afternoon**

After that he let us go, and we decided to visit town to see the students from Vacuo that were arriving for the Vytal Festival that day. Weiss was going on about solemn duty to welcome them, yadayadayada, blah blah blah. "Whoa" I heard Ruby say, "What happened here" she asked as we approached what looked like a shop that had just been broken into.

Robbery, second time this week," said the cop on the scene. He turned to host partner and began talking about it, and the White Fang came up, and Weiss said that they were just a bunch of degenerates, and Blake retorted, and I just was not going to get into it. "What do you think of them James?" Weiss asked. I replied with the ever intelligent "Huh" "The White Fang. What's your opinion?" Oh. She had just thrown me into a minefield, and I had to tread very lightly so as to not make either Weiss or Blake hate me for a while. "Well, the way I see it, they're just trying to be seen as equals, and their current methods seem to them like they are working, so, in their reasoning, why would they change it. That is not to say that I condone it, they are, in fact, mislead, and desperate, too, but the people that treat them worse than grimm are at fault, too." I said, trying to not act biased at all. Judging by the looks on their faces, I suceeded.

My day went downhill from there, and the only things worth noting were running after a faunus stowaway and our encounter with a girl named Penny. I was fairly sure that she was a robot, because she talked very, very strictly in line with the rules of grammar and her mannerisms were very odd, very stinted and very scripted-seeming. Oh, one more thing, the one corner of the patch on my coat came off, thankfully, it was one of the lower corners, so there was no chance of them seeing… it.

When we got back to the dorm that night, Weiss and Blake were still arguing, and I was pretty fed up with it. I tried to ignore them, but I failed, and I took out my coat, grabbed out a needle and thread, and proceeded to start repairing the patch on the back of my coat when Weiss said "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because there a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" she said. At this point her Bitch-O-Meter was broken because it has no measure for that level of bitchiness. I stood up and said, almost at the same time as Blake and said " Maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

After that we ran out of the room. I heard Ruby yelling after me, but I kept on going, she probably hated me now that the secret was out, along with Yang and Weiss. We stopped in front of the statue in beacons courtyard, and Blake reached up, hesitantly, and removed her bow. We heard someone behind us say "I knew you'd look better without the bow.

 **Two days later (imagine that they have a long weekend)**

"So you want to know more about me" Blake said to our new friend, Sun. I was pretty much tuning them out, drowning my sorrows in a seemingly endless cup of Irish coffee, because, at this point I had convinced myself that Ruby now hated me. I was broken out of my daze by Sunday with a "What about you, big guy? What's your story?" I might a well tell them. "I was in the White Fang until I was 13, then I left because I wanted no part of what they were becoming. After that I got food where I could, barely scraping by. That went on until I was 15, then I was hired as a bodyguard for a very powerful Crime Lady (because the female form of lord is lady). I made friends with Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, the boss lady's other two bodyguards. When I discovered my semblance, they ratted me out to the boss and she tried to turn me into her personal attack dog using a collar that would drug me into a berserker rage and then give me a shot of morphine when I killed something. It made me develop an insane second personality that loves sex, drugs, rock & roll, and killing. She would use people that she wanted dead as targets and the drug just brought out the other guy who always was happy to comply. I did make friends with a fellow test subject named Neopolitan, though. I escaped several months before school started, Ozpin found me a month later, and the rest is history." Blake and Sun just sat there, shocked. Hopefully, this would blow over soon and things would go back to normal.

 **Later at the docks (there are no meaningful changes/events up to this point)**

Blake and Sun had come up with a plan to find out once and for all if the robberies were conducted by the White Fang. The plan was to have a stakeout across from a big Schnee company Dust shipment that had just come in, but our suspicions were soon proved right when a bullhead arrived and White Fang grunts came out and began to prep a crate for transport. A human in a very slick getup came and began ordering the thugs around and Blake broke cover and went after her. I was beating up on grunts from the White Fang when I heard… _her_. "Oh I finally found you, my _dear,_ stray _pet_ " she said, venom lacing her voice. She was wearing a black jumpsuit with glowing _cinder_ themed flares and a half-mask over her eyes. She had twin swords in her hands and a smirk on her face. My vision tunneled, the only thing that mattered was killing her. I went at her claws out, ready to f*** her up. The next thing I knew I felt an icy pinch in my right shoulder, then nothing. I looked down and there was blood dripping out of the hole where my arm used to be. I then picked myself up, and attacked again, this time I felt a slice across the bridge of my nose and an unbearable burning on my left wrist. I fell to my knees, beginning to black out from pain and blood loss.

The last thing I saw was a reaper of Red and Black running towards me, scythe forgotten.

 **Chapter end**

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 **Jk, I'm not that much of an asshole. On with the story.**

The first thing that I noticed when I woke up was the overwhelming smell of antiseptic, which meant that I was alive, and probably in a hospital. The second thing was a girl in sunglasses and a beret. I could have sworn that I had seen her before, but I couldn't remember where, so I asked, saying "Who are you? Where is my team?" The look on her face was _priceless._ She looked like someone had doused her with ice water. She quickly regained her composure and replied "I'm Coco Adel, leader of team CFVY, Velvet's team. She has been so worried about you since you got curb stomped by that mystery woman. You're one of the few people that stood up for her when Cardin bullied her, you know. I convinced your team to go and get some hot coco in the cafeteria. You had Ruby worried sick, you know. She and at least one of your teammates, Team JNPR, my team, or Team CRDL have been here with you almost 24/7, regardless of being ordered to go to class normally. Your teammates have barely been able to sleep for a month." "Even Weiss? The prim and proper Princess? Also, where is the remote to adjust my position?" "Yes, even her, and the remote is on your right," she said a smirk tugging at her lips at that. I picked up the remote, and looked at it, just so that I didn't accidentally press the "call nurse" button and saw a… metal hand…

That's right…

I lost my right arm…

The next moment three things happened, and in this order: I heard a gasp, a red and black blur gave me a bear hug, and then I heard the sound of a paper cup hitting the floor and spilling its contents.

Ruby let go and looked up at me, tears glistening in her eyes, smile gracing her face. She looked terrible, eyes red and puffy from crying, bags underneath her eyes, the whole nine yards. "Don't ever do that again you big dummy" she said. I looked at her, leaned over, and then said "I may be a big dummy, but I'm _your_ big dummy," I said, then kissed her, full on the lips. The brief embrace seemed to last an eternity. I broke the kiss and smiled. "I'm sorry for running away, I was just so scared about what you would think, it's just that you guys are the first place that I've _belonged_ , not just been wanted, but truly belonged, and I was afraid that I had ruined that, because I really do love you, Ruby" I told her, but I got no reply. Puzzled, I looked down. She was fast asleep. 'Why the heck not' I figured, and used the remote to lower the bed a bit, snuggled up, and closed my eyes..

I slept soundly and had sweet dreams that night, happy and content.

 **AN: Here you go my few, dedicated fans! I worked through the Doctor Who Christmas special to bring this to you guys, I hope you like it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Semblance of Sanity**

 **A.N. Hi guys, Sorry I took so long to update again, I wanted to wait until Volume 3 was finished and I must say… I am split between elation that the story has finally kicked off, but I am also sobbing, my heart feels like it was dug out with a dull chisel, torn out, stomped on, pulverized by Yang, mashed by Nora, put in a blender, frozen by Weiss, then slashed and shot into oblivion by Ruby. (SPOILERS INCOMING) I mean Dismembered, Disarmed, and Deceased. Penny was cut to bits, she was too good for this world, I hope that Ruby does a Lollipop Chainsaw- type thing with Penny's head. Angsty Yang is Angsty, I hope that we see her get a new arm and that someone calls it Automail as a FMA/B reference, like the Truth record in the first scene of V1 E1, that would be awesome. I'll bet that Pyrrha disconnecting from the transfer device got a bit of her aura stuck in it, likely allowing for one of three things: 1: We get an Epsilon type return for Pyrrha, like for Church in RvB, 2: We get an android that Penny's father based off of Pyrrha, kinda like a sister or clone, or 3: Jaune somehow absorbed it, allowing him to summon a Pyrrha ghost/avatar/shade/wraith using his semblance. All of that would be awesome. (SPOILERS DONE) I took so long even after the finale because I completely overhauled my character because he had become OP with a Semblance that made him an extremely agile, fast hitting, heavy hitting, highly armored Battle-God wielding a sword &shield/greatsword/claws/shotgun/sniper-rifle/gatling-gun/death-beam-of-the-apocalypse weapon combo. Now… well… you'll see…**

 **LET THE STORY BEGIN!**

Chapter 4: Meeting Her Father

I was having a _miserable_ day. It was the second-to-last day before the beginning of Beacon's one-month-long summer break. Ruby was going home to Patch with Yang to spend time with her Dad and Uncle. I was happy for her, she was going to hang out, have fun, catch up with her friends from Signal, all of those little things that most take for granted. I was happy as long as she was happy, even though I was going to be staying here at Beacon with Blake, Nora, Ren, and all of the other students that couldn't go back home due to a lack of one, family not having enough money, sold out flights, family trouble, etc.. One of the people that you would never expect to be staying here was Cardin Winchester. He wasn't an orphan like most of the rest of us, but he no longer was a Winchester, legally speaking that is.

As it turned out, a large part of why he was such a bully to the people that he perceived as weak and appeared to be such a racist was his father. He had beat it into Cardin's head that the weak were trash and were to be treated as such. Cardin was shown the error of those beliefs during the incident in Forever Fall forest. After that he shaped up, managing to make his way into our circle of friends, along with his team. His hostility towards Velvet was an act, just like her pain. They were actually in love, the elaborate act was because Cardin was afraid of what his father would do if he found out, so they acted like bully and victim in public, meeting up in out of the way corners of the school for their intimate moments. I had been in the top floor of the library, which was almost always empty since it was the Miscellaneous section, when I overheard their tryst. They made me swear not to tell anyone, but I encouraged them to come out in the open about it, and eventually they did, and we were all happy for them. The joy did not last long because the next day his father visited with an ultimatum: Dump Velvet or be disowned. Cardin chose Velvet. But I digress.

I spent the last few months since the docks incident getting used to my new arm, and adapting to the changes that had occurred. When I was in the hospital I had asked Ozpin to have the doctors remove the various dust mixtures and Nano-machines that my former employer had injected me with. My semblance had originally been an absorb-type semblance, based around absorbing the energy from enemy attacks like Yang's, but while it did increase my strength, it did not do so anywhere nearly as quickly, but it did enhance other things. It used that absorbed energy to make my senses more acute to a certain point, as well as decreasing the lag between me hearing a noise and me perceiving it, stuff like that. It also improved my reaction speed, and the processing speed of my brain. The bestial traits becoming much more pronounced was simply a sign that I was using my semblance, like Ruby's rose petals, or Yang's eyes going red, and it never got to the point where I looked like a beowolf without the tell-tale grimm traits. The alterations that my former employer activated the semblance and "overcharged" it whenever it was used, so now with those gone I could fight with out fearing that my other side would just randomly burst out, for the most part at least. I could still use that overcharge form if I let my other side take over, but I didn't want to use that unless absolutely necessary.

The two coolest things were my New arm and Weapon. My new arm was built by me and Ruby since the one that they gave me was civilian-spec and did not channel Aura, and that just wouldn't do. The one that we had built had Okami built in to it, and it had compartments to store small items safely. It also had a length of Dust-reinforced steel cable attached to the main arm and wrist at either end, allowing me to use it as a grappling hook if necessary, but that was just to see if we could. It was black, polished metal that gleamed faintly, the seams glowing dark blue, making an awesome tribal pattern. It had taken some time to get used to it, and I had taken up knitting and sewing to work on improving dexterity in my metal right hand. I had already made Ruby an awesome knit hat with a pair of dog ears, ear flaps, and tassels. When she wore it, the dog ears somehow moved like real dog ears, and it was _f%#$ing cute_. My new weapon, named Sunder (like tear, split, devastate) was made because Professor Goodwitch noticed my massive performance drop(due to me no longer having any of my former employer's "enhancements", as well as Okami being destroyed beyond repair) and asked me if there were any weapons that I was actually trained to use, and there was one. The Longsword. I had trained in it when I was still a member of the White Fang, but when I fell under _her_ employ she asked that I use a less conspicuous weapon, so I built Okami and Riyu, even though hand to hand was not my forte.

When I told Goodwitch this she insisted that I switch to that, because I could no longer use overwhelming strength to cover up my lack of skill with the claws. That night I went to the weapons forge with an idea, a plan in my head, carrying some provisions, as I had obtained permission from Ozpin to be excused from classes until my weapon was complete. I spent a week in there, barely sleeping or eating, focused completely on what I was making. I'm not sure that I was even fully aware of what was happening as I forged my weapon. First came the blade, 4 feet long and 4 inches wide, made of Dust-infused alloys, with two razor-sharp edges able to be charged with dust for that extra special something, even though it could only be used in small amounts, to conserve energy. The hilt was wrapped in blue silk accented with black, and long enough that I could use two hands to put extra force behind a swing if I needed to. The hilt also had a built-in locator chip, so I could always find it after a fight, and if I got kidnapped or lost, I could be found easily. The sheath magnetized to a carry strap that went in a diagonal from my right shoulder to the left side of my waist.

It was an amazing piece of weaponry, like an extension of my soul, th-

"James!" Ruby yells, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah Ruby what is it?" I ask, giving my signature toothy grin. We're in the dorm, all five of us, those of us that are going to visit home, ie. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang, are packing up for the trip. Me and Blake aren't because, you know, orphans.

"Well… I called Dad and asked him if you could stay at our place during the break," she said, sounding sheepish. She took a breath before continuing. "And he sais that you could. He said that he really wants to meet you," she finished, grinning.

Yang began cackling like a madwoman before saying "You are soooo screwed!"

"Surely he cannot be _that_ bad. You always describe him as kind and caring, how could he mean James any harm, he most likely wants to meet him to find out what type of person he is." Weiss said, a tone of disbelief in her voice, always the calm, rational one.

"Think how protective I am of Ruby. You got that image? Increase it by the power of 10. That is how bad it is when he feels that she is threatened," she said with a gravely serious tone.

Blake just looked amused by the whole thing, reading "Ninjas of Love" like we didn't know what it was that she was she was reading. She had already met him, since Yang had been _very_ public about their relationship.

I was already planning out my will, praying to Oum that I would survive the summer.

 **IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! TIME-SKIP**

Patch, the island that Ruby grew up on, is absolutely _beautiful_. There is no other way that I can describe it. The buildings remind me of the ones in Vale, just spread out more. The people were friendly, welcoming and warm, towards me. It was obvious that everyone knew everyone there, despite it being a good-sized town. Once people found out that I was Ruby's boyfriend, however, I stared getting stares of pity and despondent messages of "good luck".

Ruby, Yang, and I are walking down the street, talking and laughing about what we are going to do in the month that we have off, enjoying the nice weather, you know normal teenager stuff being done by far from normal teenagers.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of a blade whistling through the air towards me. I leap to the side, the blade scything through the air where I had just been standing. When I looked up I saw a man with black hair and red eyes. He had on a gray shirt and a red cape, and holding a large single-edged sword with a circular device with gears in it where the blade met the hilt and another blade coming down over the hilt to act as a hand-guard.

"Hi Uncle Qrow," Ruby said, unconcerned about the whole him pointing a sword at me thing.

'How've you been?" Yang asked, clearly amused at my predicament.

"You must be James, Ruby's told me all about you," he says in a voice that called up thoughts of a short blond teen pissed off about being short for some reason.

"You're Ruby's Uncle Qrow? Don't you wield a scythe?" I ask him, trying not to give away just how much he terrifies me. Ruby and Yang were standing on the sidelines, Yang grinning and holding a hand over Ruby's mouth. She obviously thought that this whole thing would end badly, but for whom, I couldn't tell.

"Yes I am the pipsqueak's uncle, and yes I do," he told me, grinning at a chance to show off. He twirled the sword, the blade separating into segments and forming a curve with the blunt edge on the inside, a dark red blade emerging from the inside, the hilt forming a smaller angle with the blade and extending into a shaft, the end stage being, lo and behold, a scythe.

I stare for a few seconds, taking in this weapon created purely for cutting and killing, looking beautiful and elegant, yet deadly all at the same time. I then fanboyed. Hard. "Oh my Oum! That is awesome! Not as awesome as Crescent Rose, but it still ranks in the top 5!" I said, eyes wide and sparkling, wonder in my tone.

"Hah! Take that! Crescent Rose is better!" Ruby exclaimed triumphantly, fondling Crescent Rose. It is so cute when she does that.

"As if, pipsqueak. Mine is obviously the superior model" Qrow retorted, rising to the challenge set forth by Ruby

"You don't know what you've done, James. They can keep going for days if their argument isn't _cut_ short" Yang said, sighing and shaking her head. "For that you can carry the luggage." She said, a devilish grin splitting her face.

Dammit.

 **TIMESKIPTIME**

The house was rather nice-looking on the outside. It was had wood siding, and felt like a log cabin, despite it's size. It was around five o' clock and I could smell food within due to my superb sense of smell. Ruby opened the front door and was immediately knocked over by a ball of fur that flew straight at her chest.

"Zwei! Hey boy! Have you been good while I was away?" Ruby asked the corgi, now known to me as Zwei, laughing and smiling.

Ruby then stood up and pointed Zwei at me and told him: "Zwei, this is James, my boyfriend and he's gonna be staying with us for a month. I like him a lot, please be nice to him, Zwei." She said all of this with a smile, cuddling Zwei.

After that she lead me inside, through the cozy front room, where I deposited all of our luggage, which I had been carrying this whole time and dining room and into the kitchen. Standing with his back to us was a tall, blonde man wearing a brown vest and shorts, with a piece of metal strapped to one shoulder. He turned around and I saw that he had some stubble and eyes the same color as Yang's. I could only assume that this was Taiyang Xiao Long, father of Ruby and Yang

"You must be James! I've heard all about you from Yang," he told me, smiling genuinely.

He seemed nice, I didn't expect that, from the way that Yang described him I expected him to be rather scary towards me, perhaps even hostile. As it was he seemed rather… Wait, did he say that he's heard all about me from _Yang_?! I paled, terrified of the implications.

"Don't worry, she only had good things to say about you. She's been keeping me up to date on all of the major developments since your first date," he said, obviously amused at my panic.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir," I said to him smiling and holding out my hand.

He took my hand and shook it. "Likewise, James," he told me, smiling, "Let me show you to your room."

"My room? You mean the Guest Room, right?" I asked him, confused because of how he phrased the statement.

"No, I mean your room. I can't just let Ruby date a homeless vagabond, now can I?" he told me, as if it was obvious.

I just stood there shocked. He took advantage of that and led me through the house, up the stairs, and stopped at the first door on the right. The room was rather plain and unadorned, but it was nice. There was a wood desk/bookshelf combo with a plain wood chair, both well made, on the wall to my right, a dresser against the right wall, a bed in the far left corner with blue blankets on it and a a storage chest at the foot, a work bench on the right wall, and windows on the left wall and the far wall. I walked in and set my backpack on the bed.

"Thank you, I don't know what to say, sir. No one has ever gone out of their way like this for me before," I told him, tearing up slightly. It was true, no one had ever just done something like this for me, with no ulterior motive or plan for me before.

"One: stop with the sir, it's bothering me. Call me Taiyang, please. And two: Ruby loves you, and so that makes you family in my book. I won't let family sleep out in the cold if I can help it. Dinner is in an hour, Ruby and Yang's room is next door, and I hope that you like it here, I really do." He told me. After that he walked off, leaving me to unpack.

 **A.N. Hi y'all! I'm sorry this took so long to get written, but now it is, and so I am posting it! I did an extra long chapter to make up for it. Also, the fluff will not last. I'm gonna follow the same pattern as the show, and it will get dark around the same point that the show did. This is just the calm before the storm, I promise.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A Semblance of Sanity**

 **A.N. Here is a new chapter!**

After Mr. Taiyang left, I went over to my back pack and opened it up and began unpacking _all_ of my stuff. All of my stuff is a big deal because my backpack was one of those made to carry supplies for a long hiking trip. It contained all of my worldly possessions. I'd had it since I was 13 and I left the White Fang and I had accrued _a_ _lot_ of stuff since then, ranging from cool rocks to photos to spent bullet casings. My photo album was my most prized possession. It had photos from back when Blake and I still lived in the orphanage in it. I was looking at a photo of me and Blake from back when we were 11 when I heard a voice from next to me.

"Oooh! Is that Blake and you when you were little?" I heard Ruby exclaim from the bed next to me.

I jumped up, yelping. "How long have you been there?" I asked her. I noticed Yang standing next to her, as well.

"Long enough to see that you are excellent with children," Yang replied, smirking, "I'll bet that you will be excellent when you and Ruby finally settle down to have little Silver-eyed, Brown-haired babies," she finished.

I could only splutter when Ruby finally spoke.

"We decided to help you unpack, since you have a room of your own now and all," she replied smiling.

Normally, I would say no but… that smile… it melted right through my lone wolf exterior. "Fine," I told her, "you can help. I'll probably need it anyways," I finished smiling at her.

"Yes! Project Get Sean Settled is a go!" she exclaimed, with all of her usual enthusiasm.

After that we proceeded to empty out my pack. We found a few things in there that I had thought lost, like my old sword polishing kit, and the photo from my 12th birthday, the one when I got my first duster. Once we were done The room looked like a room that I had actually lived in. The walls bore posters of my various favorite things, like a poster for Jeff & Caesey Lee Williams, a poster for Rooster Teeth, the people behind such things as Red vs Blue, X-Ray & Vav, and much more, a poster for all three Mass Effect Games, etcetera. The bookshelf had various books like Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson, and much, much more. The shelves also bore various mementos and trinkets, like apiece of obsidian shaped like a flame, other such cool things. The workbench was covered in various tools and bottles and phials and parts. Soon after we finished Yang looked at my bag, worried for some reason, and asked me a question.

"Are you are that was all of your clothes? Are you hiding any in the side pockets?" She asked, her face the very picture of concern.

"Yeah, I've got like three pairs of pants and four T-shirts. Isin't that normal?" I asked her, confused. I honestly was, though. Isin't that a lot? Most people I knew had around that amount, too.

"No, no it's not, most people have at least enough to fill up at least two drawers in a dresser, your stuff doesn't even fill one. Tomorrow we are going to go clothes shopping," She told me, with absolutely no room for argument.

"But-," I was interrupted by Mr. Taiyang announcing dinner. Ruby used her semblance and zipped out of the room, followed closely by Yang. I got up from the bed and followed them out of the room and down the stairs. When I arrived in the dining room, I was _disarmed_ by the amazing aroma of Mr. Taiyang's cooking.

"I've gotta _hand_ it to you, this smells great," I told him, "Do you need any help bringing the food out?" I asked him, drooling.

"No, but you can give Ruby _a hand_ with setting the table," he told me smiling.

"You caught on to the hand puns, did you?" I asked him as walked into the kitchen.

"Yep, where do you think Yang got her superior sense of humor from?" he replied, smirking.

"You're evil," I told him, whilst I grabbed the dishes and silverware, "Yang wouldn't stop making puns about my arm until I proved that I could punch harder than her with it. On the ride over she made a pun about starting this summer off with a _Yang,_ " I told him, incredulous.

After that I took the dishes into the kitchen and helped Ruby set the table. Once the table was set we all sat down to eat. Ruby and I sat side by side on one side of the table, Yang across from Ruby, and Qrow across from me. Mr. Taiyang sat next to Yang and Ruby at the head of the table. The food was amazing, there were biscuits, and roast, and fish and crab and fresh fruit and vegetables. Mr. Taiyang was an amazing chef, and I made a personal note to have him teach me how to cook some time this month. We ate in awkward silence for a while until Ruby's dad decided to break the silence.

"So, how did you and Ruby's first date go?" he asked, smiling.

"Well, I got dressed up in my nicest shirt and pants, and met Ruby at the docks. After that we went out to dinner at a nice Vacuo-style restaurant, and I paid for everything. After that we went to the concert, and during Gold, Ruby told me that she loved me. After that I Kissed her as my response to whether or not I loved her, too. After the concert was over, we caught the last bullhead home and Ruby fell asleep on the ride back to Beacon, so I gave her a piggy-back ride back to the dorm, and she refused to let go when we got back to the dorm, and I didn't want to wake her, so I just got into bed and went to sleep that way. I woke up the next morning to Yang trying to murder me," I told him. As I spoke I could feel a blush creeping its way up my cheeks.

"Well, at least you did it right. So when can I expect grandchildren?" he asked, smirking, now.

I was taking a drink of my milk when he asked that, so naturally, I spewed it everywhere. Ruby almost choked on her roast.

"I… I…-I," I spluttered.

Ruby did the same thing.

The rest of dinner was just Yang, Qrow, and Mr. Taiyang teasing Ruby and I. After dinner I went up to bed since it had been a long day and I was rather tired after the whole ordeal. Ruby's family was insane. At least I had the common sense to not ask about her mother. Ruby had once mentioned that her mom was a huntress to me, and so she was either on a mission or…

Yeah.

Ruby walked in and sat down on the bed next to me. "Soooo… What do you think of my family? I know, I know, they're kind of weird, but I'm sure they'll grow on you!" she said, happily.

"They're awesome! And I've gotta _hand_ it to your dad, he caught on to our inside joke really quickly!" I said, smiling.

She punched me on the arm playfully. "Stop it James!" she exclaimed, "Yang does that enough already!" she said, eyes starting to tear up.

She had begun to blame herself for what happened, and so I did the only thing I could… I mentioned the subject that she loves more than everything else… weapons.

"Your Uncle's scythe is rather… underwhelming compared to Crescent Rose," I told her, smiling as I spoke. Ruby compared her scythe to other weapons like it was a contest and it was just adorable, and awesome too, since she could destroy packs of beowolves by herself with barely a scratch on her.

"Really?" she asked, eyes wide and sparkling.

I couldn't help myself. I kissed her, quickly, but genuinely. "Really, I've seen videos of him fighting, and he uses it like something that he's holding, like an object. You use Crescent Rose like an extension of your own arm, and when you fight it's like you're dancing, Qrow tanks hits, and they never even come close to you. Even though you are technically less skilled than him, I can tell that you will be an even better fighter than him one day, Ruby," I told her, grinning wider with each word. I could hear the muffled thumping of my tail as it wagged back and forth.

"You think so?" she asked, smiling and leaning against my side. I nodded. "Thanks James, I'll bet that my mom would have liked you," she told me, smiling softly. "That reminds me! Do you want to come visit her with me?" she asked, jumping up.

"Sure, I'd love to," I said. Visit her? Did she mean her mother's grave? She did keep talking about her mother in the past tense, so did that mean that she was dead?

"Awesome! Just grab Sunder and Riyu, and we can go!" she said, speeding out of the room.

I grabbed Riyu from the workbench where I had left it, and I went downstairs. I met Qrow on my way down and he seemed confused as to where I was going.

"Why the hurry James? I thought that you were going to bed?" he asked me, confusion in his eyes.

"Ruby asked me to visit her mother with her. By 'visit her mother' does she mean her mother's…" I trailed off, unsure and scratching my wolf ears nervously.

"Grave? Yes, yes she does. She likes to visit when something important happens to her, Ruby likes to talk like she's telling her mom about her day. I think that it was a way to cope at first, and now it's just a way to feel closer to her mom," he said, smiling faintly like he was recalling fond memories.

"Well, I've seen worse ways of coping before," I told him, a smirk splitting my face.

He raised an eyebrow. "Like?"

"Drinking to ease the pain," I said, gesturing at his flask as my smirk grew even bigger.

I left him struggling to come up with a comeback.

 **TIME SKIP**

Ruby and I had trekked through the woods to her mother's grave, an then spent the sunset there on a cliff overlooking the sea. Ruby's mother's name was Summer, a beautiful name, and from what Ruby had told me it fit her well. The grave was a simple affair, just a small pedestal with the same symbol that Ruby used as her own, Summer's name below that, and below that an epithet: "Thus Kindly I Scatter." It was a beautiful grave, in a beautiful location.

When we got back it was well after dark and I went straight up to bed.

The next morning I woke up early, and went downstairs for some coffee. I soon found out that I wouldn't be getting my morning cuppa' joe alone.

"So, the big bad wolf finally decided to face the huntsmen," Qrow said lazily, clutching a cup of coffee and leaning on the counter next to the coffee machine.

"What do you think of our humble abode, James? I never got the chance to ask you last night," Mr. Taiyang said, clutching his own cup of coffee while sitting in the breakfast nook.

"I like it, Mr. Taiyang, it's really nice, but I can't help but feel that you want to ask me something else," I replied, before adding "Where are the coffee mugs?"

Qrow handed me a mug and I filled it with coffee. "Yeah, I have one," he said, scowling, "Why the hell are you going to Beacon?"

I gave him a scowl of my own, and answered with, "Ozpin made me an offer to attend Beacon and I accepted."

"That sounds like Ozpin," he admitted "But why did you accept is what I want to know."

'Here it comes,' I thought 'He's going to want to know why.' I took a deep breath and continued. "To atone," I said. 'There, it's done,' I thought, fearing Mr. Taiyang's response.

His face took on a stormy expression. "I see," he said, nodding.

After that the morning progressed normally until Yang and Ruby came up to me.

"Hey James, ready to go shopping?" she said, grinning hugely, like a predator about to pounce on its prey.

Now I'm a predator myself, but her smile terrified me completely, like she was about to… deal with me in the most horrifying way possible. "Sh-Shopping?" I asked, terrified.

"Yeah, shopping! You need clothes, and there is a clothes store in town for Huntsmen and Huntresses, and it has the most cutest and badassest clothes, and its just the most awesomest clothing store and its just… awesome!" Ruby said, pulling her arms in and pushing them upwards in an exploding motion.

That's how I found my self buying clothing

 **A.N. New chapter, I have nothing to explain, this time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A Semblance of Sanity**

 **A.N. Thank you people who have read and reviewed. You guys' reviews really help to motivate me to write, they show me that there are people who enjoy what I write. The whole thing with the "Nanobots being removed" a few chapters ago was the only way that I could think of to nerf James without screwing up some of the plot points. Also, I figured that it would be a good place to put that in in a way that both explained how his semblance got OP, and could implement the ways that my Idea of James has changed since I started writing this. Another thing thing that I want to call attention to is that James is getting more and more touchy as his new friends get closer to finding out about his dark past. Final notes: I hope to get past the fluff arc in this chapter & I will talk about recent story developments at the end of the chapter.**

As it turns out, shopping with Ruby and Yang was not as bad as it sounded.

"Here we are! My favorite clothing store on the island, Grimm's Gear!" Yang exclaimed happily, gesturing at a three-story building with a sign that showed a well dressed huntsman standing over a dead Grimm.

"So, what's so special about this place?" I asked Ruby, confused. I understood that the place sold practical clothing, but Ruby didn't fangirl that much over just clothing.

"Well, they don't just sell clothes," Ruby said before continuing, "They also sell backpacks and tools, and ammo and weapons and other stuff."

With that Yang dragged us inside. The experience was, for the most part, too boring to recount here, I got more pants and shirts and such, and new tools and such to replace my old ones. I also got a new pair of fingerless gloves and a set of simple greaves to cover my legs as well as bracers for my arms. But the most important purchase was a simple one.

I was walking along when I saw It. It was a hand cannon that looked sleek and brutal with its crimson paintjob. It had a low rate of fire and a relatively small clip, but man did it pack a punch. It could have its regular rounds switched out for Dust rounds. It was… The Executioner. It was made by the now-defunct Blood Pack Munitions Co. and it was a thing of beauty.

"Hey," I said to the man running the weapons counter, my tail wagging hard and fast, "how much for that gun?"

He looked me up and down, eyes lingering on my right arm. "You want that slow POS?" he asked, gesturing to the Executioner, "I'll give it to you for 100 lien," he said, smiling.

I forked over the Lien, smiling. I ended up paying 300 lien extra, 50 for the leg holster and 250 for ammo.

We left not long after that, starting home, with me smiling the whole way home, apparently creeping out my girlfriend and her sister. When we got there I stripped off my boots as fast as I could and ran up to my room.

I had just sat down on my bead when Ruby ran into my room in a streak of red.

"What's up James, why were you smiling like that, you looked like you had just taken a big dose of laughing gas," she said, concerned.

"No, I found the most awesome thing ever," I said, smiling giddily.

"But I thought I was the most awesome thing ever," she said, looking hurt.

' _Shit, I made her upset.'_ I thought, frustrated while my lupine ears drooped.

"No, you're the most awesome _person_ ever, it's way better than being the most awesome thing ever!" I said while hugging her in a desperate attempt to cheer her back up. It worked, and she pulled back and kissed me, before returning to her original question.

"So what did you get?" she asked, looking just as giddy as me.

"An Executioner," I said as I pulled it out of the bag with a flourish.

Ruby didn't speak for a second as her eyes went wide, then she squeed.

"OHMYGOSH! Is it really an executioner, I thought that they were discontinued!" she said while flitting around the weapon to get a look from every angle.

"there was one in the shop. The sucker at the counter didn't know what he was missing out on, I got it for 100 lien." I said, smirking. Ruby smiled, too.

Just then, I heard Mr. Taiyang calling up to us that dinner was ready, so we went down to eat.

 **TIME SKIP TO THE DAY BEFORE START OF VOLUME 2**

"Solid ground! Finally!" I cried, as we stepped off of the airship on the Beacon docks. We had come back a few days early so that we could spend time with our friends who'd had to stay there.

"I still don't understand why you hate being in airships so much, James," Yang said in an amused tone.

"Yeah, are you afraid of heights?" Ruby asked, before smiling and drawing her scythe. "Don't worry, my love!" she said, twirling Crescent Rose, "I shall protect you!"

I smiled, bent over, and kissed her, my tail wagging back and forth. "I've told you this, like, 20 times since we started dating, but you are awesome!" I said as I straightened up again, "Thank you for your valiant effort my dear leader, but It is not necessary. I simply don't like to be in an area with no way out," I said, smiling sheepishly and scratching behind one of my wolf ears.

"Oh, okay," Yang said, before beginning to look thoughtful, "Why though? It's not like anyone's going to attack you."

I froze. I couldn't tell them, ever. They'd reject me and I would lose everything. I was just about to lie through my teeth, when I was saved by the arrival of Blake and Weiss.

"Ruby, there you are! We were supposed to meet up in front of the library ten minutes ago! You even texted me when you got off the airship!" Weiss railed angrily.

After Weiss was done Ruby hugged her. "Get off of me, you dolt!" Weiss exclaimed, and even though she had a disgusted tone I could see a slight smile on her face.

"How was your summer break?" Blake asked, before continuing. "Mine was pleasant. I got some training in, figured out new ways to use my clones, I also brushed up on the basics of hand to hand combat with Ren."

Ruby, in her usual energy filled manner, jumped in first. "It was awesome! I got to see all of my friends from Signal and I got to see my dog, Zwei! He's just so adorable!" after that she squealed, and continued, "But yeah, James met my dad and my uncle and they got along awesomely! Uncle Qrow even trained James to use his sword better!"

After that Ruby stopped for breath, and Weiss used that opportunity to say her piece, and I notice that Blake and Yang had snuck off, probably to snog in some dark corner somewhere, but I digress. Weiss had really gotten better in many ways. She had loosened up slightly and she had gone from treating Faunus with a sub zero disdain to treating them with her usual frosty indifference.

"I wish that I could have had a break like that. Mine was no different than before I left for Beacon," Weiss supplied, "It was the usual, father trying to convince me to transfer to Atlas, attempts to tie me into a political marriage, and thus expand the company, disguised as parties. I did get to see my sister, Winter though. I did get in a few good sparring matches with her," at that last part Weiss smiled softly.

It was nice to see my friend smile. Seeing my teammates smile always made my tail way and my ears perk up, since when they're happy, I'm happy. She really looked like a real person and not a porcelain doll when she did that.

I decided to join in on the conversation, "I had a good time, Mr. Taiyang gave me a room, something about how he couldn't let his daughter date a homeless vagabond, or something."

Ruby looked horrified at that. "I'm soooo sorry for him, he's kinda mean," she said, looking horrified.

"Ruby, it's fine, he was just trying to make a joke," I said, trying to calm her down.

The banter continued like that for a while, until we reached our room. There was a new feature to the room, a bed that could be folded in half and stored in the corner, likely for me so that I wouldn't have to sleep on a cot.

After we unloaded our stuff and remade the bunk beds, this time with sturdier rope holding Rub's bed above Weiss' and Yang's bunk above Blake held up the same way as before, I decided to read the latest chapter of my favorite comic, Detergent, on the Dustnet. I didn't get very far, though, as Yang chose that moment to try to talk to me.

"Soooo… James, about my question from earlier, the one that never got an answer…" she began.

I was caught off guard. "What question?" I asked.

"Y'know, the one about why you hate to be in closed in spaces with no way out," she supplied.

I froze. I couldn't tell them. They would never trust me again, ever, if I told them what I've done. Ruby noticed my distress.

"James, what's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

I couldn't lie to my girlfriend, but I couldn't tell her the full truth either. "I used to be involved with some… bad people, who I thought were good. I did some things that I'm not proud of. They didn't take it well when I left." None of that was a lie, but it wasn't anywhere near the whole truth.

"Is this related to that woman that attacked you at the docks, James?" Weiss asked.

Oh, yes definitely. Cinder Fall. The very thought of her made me growl. " _Yes,_ " I ground out. "That Bi-," Yang glared at me, "Woman," I corrected, "Was my boss, and the reason for my haywire semblance. I wasn't privy to her plans, but I know that she has something big in the works."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know. We'll get her for sure!" Ruby said, running up to hug me.

"Thanks, but for now, I want to take a nap," I said, tail wagging.

 **THE NEXT DAY-AFTER THE EPIC FOOD FIGHT**

I was hanging out in the library with the rest of Team RWBYS as well as Team JNPR. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were currently focusing on a round of Remnant: The Game, and Ren and Pyrrha was studying, Nora was sleeping, and Jaune was reading X-Ray and Vav. I was currently reading up on the large-scale applications of Dust, and some of them were truly chilling, like using it to create an explosion so intense it rips atoms apart and leaves land uninhabitable for years. Some of the other applications were even more terrifying.

I perked up at a new scent approaching. It was… interesting, like electricity and sea salt. I'd never picked up a scent quite like that one before. Ruby smelled like roses, cookies and gun oil; Weiss like fresh snow, ice and pine forests; Blake like cats, dust and blood; Yang like fire and alcohol; etc. Anyways, I digress, He walked up with Sun and after exchanging some witty banter with him, introduced himself as Neptune. He was odd, because his flirting with Weiss _worked._ She even giggled nervously. After that we hung out for a while longer and headed for our respective dorm rooms.

When we walked into the room, Blake was already there. She got up to leave, but Weiss pointed at her and said, "Stop, Lately you've been quiet, antisocial, and moody

Yang snickered and said, "Uh, have you met Blake?"

Weiss sighed and continued, "Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! Which quite frankly, is unacceptable!" she exclaimed, "You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong!" At this Weiss flipped through the air "So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?" she asked, standing on a chair.

Weiss soon climbed down and put the chair back. It was an oddly out of character for her, all things considered. She never acted quite so zany

Blake looked frustrated "I just, I don't understand how everyone can be so calm," she said, sounding exasperated now.

Ruby took a few steps towards Blake, "You're still thinking about Torchwick?" She asked.

A look of anger came over Blake's face, "Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!" she yelled, angry.

Yang put on a smile and tried to calm Blake down. "Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it," Yang told her, trying to sound genuine.

It was at this point that I decided to speak up. "Yang, they really can't. The strength and allies that they have been building up are simply… Disarmingly strong," and it was true, puns aside. They were dangerous, and getting stronger.

Weiss cut back in at this point, "Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom,-"

I got the Freedom fighting and stopping thieves, but where did blowing up nightclubs come from?

Weiss plunged onwards "I'm sure the three of you think that you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!"

Ruby looked confused at the nightclubs part, "Uh, who?"

"But let me once again be the voice of reason. We're students! We're not ready to handle this sort of situation!" Weiss finished with flair

Ruby got a look on her face that said that Weiss had a point, but her words contradicted that because she said, "Well yeah, but..."

Weiss was done with trying to persuade us at this point, and summed everything up with: "We're not ready!"

Blake scowled and retorted. "And we may never be ready! Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day," she pointed at the door and continued, "They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!"

Ruby started to motor-mouth, and make progressively more evil hand gestures, "Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses (plus one Huntsman) to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... say aye." She was looking positively maniacal at this point.

"Yes! I love it when you're feisty!" said Yang, pumping her fist as she said this.

Weiss smiled and shrugged, "Well, I suppose it could be fun."

"I'm in! Let's catch these villainous… villains…" I said, starting off strong, trailing off as I spoke.

Ruby got a dejected look on her face. "None of you said aye!" she said, with a mopey tone.

Blake smiled. "Alright then, we're in this together!" she said, sounding slightly happier.

"Let's hatch a plan!" Ruby exclaimed, happy.

Yang made "Double-guns" at Ruby. "Yeah!" she exclaimed

Ruby gasped, remembering something. "I left my board game at the library!"

Weiss facepalmed. "We're doomed," she said.

 **A.N. You may have noticed that the dialogue is mostly the same as the episode at the end. It's because it is. I did it because it works better and It saves me time on the bits that are mostly the same as their canon counterparts. Other than that, I hope that you noticed the how James' attempts to hide his past are beginning to fall apart. Also I might write a What If? Collection of short stories and drabbles about what James' life might be once he the events of the series are over, just for fun as well as a series of random short stories and such like RWBY Chibi. A lot of the changes to James' powers and such are because I realized that James was OP and he was bordering on Gary Stu. Finally, thank you all for reading, and please review, it helps me to fix things that I miss and bring you better quality chapters.**


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